Content-On-Demand: November 2022

As soon as it gets slippery in winter, some people still resort to salt when gritting the sidewalk - and harm nature and wildlife in the process. But there are environmentally friendly alternatives to the millions of tons of road salt that work just as well.

Why is Road Salt so bad for the Environment?

In the short term, the advantages of road salt seem obvious; after all, it lowers the freezing point of water. It thus prevents ice formation and melts ice that has already formed. This makes roads and paths passable again in no time.

The Downside

Salt brought into nature in this way directly harms the environment. On the one hand, road salt damages plant growing along the roadside, and on the other hand, it seeps into the ground with meltwater, where it can accumulate in the soil for years. The resulting high salt content in the soil makes it harder for plants to absorb water and nutrients. In the long term, this leads to a lack of nutrients, crusted soil, diseases, and earlier death.

Damage to Plants and Animals

But it is not only plants that suffer from salt; this aggressive gritting agent is also harmful to animals. Dog paws, for example, are attacked by salt and can become inflamed. If the four-legged friends also lick their paws after a walk, the salt also gets into their stomachs. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are often the result.

In particularly bad cases, the ingestion of road salt can even lead to death in animals, because some salts contain ethylene glycol, an odorless, sweet-tasting substance that dogs like to lick up. Poisoning with this substance can cause severe kidney damage and, in the worst case, fatal kidney failure.

In addition to living creatures, road salt also harms materials that are actually considered robust: For example, when combined with moisture, the salt can develop corrosive properties that can lead to decomposition in cars and on buildings.

What are the Environmentally-Friendly Alternatives to Road Salt?

The best preventive measure to avoid unwanted slides is to quickly remove snow from the paths. So there's no getting around grabbing a snow shovel and shoveling snow. To make the cleared paths non-slip afterward, however, road salt is not needed. In many municipalities, the private use of salt is now also prohibited and subject to a fine.

Sand and Limestone

Sand and limestone are among the environmentally friendly alternatives to road salt because they have a dulling effect. While they do not melt ice, they do increase grip on the ground, preventing slippage.

To apply sand or limestone granules, the snow should first be cleared aside with a snow shovel. Then you can generously apply the material to the ground because in this case, a lot helps a lot. In return, however, everything can be swept up and reused after use without any problems.

Similar to sand and limestone, lava granulate also has a blunting effect, so that the natural product can convince with immediate slip resistance. It should therefore not be missing in the winter supply store. Unlike road salt, lava granules are frost-resistant and do not dissolve. The porous structure also ensures that melt water is absorbed. Another advantage is that adjacent plants do not suffer any damage from the use of this gritting material. The same applies to the use of clay

Grit: Not Always Recommended

Grit also makes icy paths less slippery. Some of the grit offered may contain toxic substances. In addition, the production and disposal of grit cost a lot of energy, which does not go hand in hand with a sustainable eco-balance.

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Tips for Successful Publishing - Newsletter November 2022

by by 111Publishing and SavvyBookWriters

Content of this Newsletter:

- Get Your Book in Libraries

- Famous Writers Born in November

- Freelance Writing

- NaNoWriMo

- Writing Contests

Hello Friends,

One of the most lucrative writing contests of CAD 150,000 can be found here in this November Newsletter. Are you already working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel from scratch until November 30? Don’t forget: Thanksgiving is in three weeks and Christmas is in seven weeks!

How Smart Authors Get Their Books into Libraries

Do you want to get your books into libraries, but don’t know how to do it?

Here is the background info from librarians – and which library suppliers and aggregators/book distributors are the best for author-publishers!

https://www.savvybookwriters.com/how-smart-authors-get-their-books-into-libraries/

Famous Authors Born in November:

While delving into history, one is amazed that many of the world's finest writers were born in November.

Albert Camus (Born – 7 November 1913)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Born – 11 November 1821)

George Eliot (Born – 22 November 1819)

Margaret Atwood (Born – 18 November 1939)

Mark Twain (Born – 30 November 1835)

Robert Louis Stevenson (Born – 13 November 1850)

Voltaire (Born – 21 November 1694)

William Shakespeare, born in the 17th century, wrote 38 plays, one of which seems always to be in a local playhouse. Anne Frank, whose diary told us how it felt to love while hiding in an attic from Nazi persecutors in the 1940s and JK Rowling, whose tales about teenage fantasy have sold more than 4 million copies, was also born in November.

- FREELANCE WRITING

Sassee

Welcoming editorial submissions from freelance writers. They are looking for new, unpublished, first-person, non-fiction material that is for or about women. Essays, humor, satire, personal experience, and features on topics relating to women are our primary editorial focus. Articles should be no more than 500 to 1,000 words in length. Pays ten cents/word.

https://sasee.com/submissions/#writer-guidelines

Landscape Architecture

Our audience primarily comprises landscape architecture professionals and students in the United States and abroad, with a fair number of city planners in the mix. We have an important secondary audience in allied professionals such as architects and engineers, but also decision-makers such as politicians and public officials, university or corporate heads, real estate developers, regulators, and a wide spectrum of people who collaborate with landscape architects, such as scientists (botanists, ecologists), geographers, horticulturists, construction specialists, and product manufacturers. We are interested in stories, not subjects. The more specific, the better. We are also taking pitches every day forever. We pay $350 for short pieces (under 500 words) and up to a $1/word for features.

https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/contribute-to-lam/

Lake Superior Magazine

A bimonthly full-color consumer magazine that focuses exclusively on the Lake Superior region – history, current events, lifestyles, environment, and tourism. We pay on a per-piece basis, with magazine features generally paying $200 to $400. Top dollar is earned by a well-written and researched manuscript-photo package. The average feature runs 1,600 to 2,000 words.

https://www.lakesuperior.com/aboutus/submission-guidelines/editorial-guidelines/

Torontoverse

Payment of $500 for all assignments and two-day payment by e-transfer. Projects that involve multimedia work such as photography or video will be similarly compensated at fair rates. We are currently building a catalog of evergreen (i.e., interesting outside the news cycle) content of 500-1000 words across five areas: News, Sports, Transit, Arts, and Fun. Our preference is for pitches between 500-750 words and up to 1,000 words at most. They pay fixed rates of $750 for reported stories.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ksZfZWwc8WPKfkBYlHIBtR-dDiV2Yn1XH6t_d3c3kpM/edit

NaNoWriMo

"Writing a novel alone can be difficult, even for seasoned writers. NaNoWriMo helps you track your progress, set milestones, connect with other writers in a vast community, and participate in events that are designed to make sure you finish your novel. Oh, and best of all, it’s free! There are also forums where writers can talk about outlining, character development, and plot, and share their progress. NaNoWriMo acknowledges that writing is a solitary pursuit, that writing a novel, in particular, is daunting, and that having company along the way can be both inspiring and provide the necessary motivation."

https://nanowrimo.org/

WRITING CONTESTS

Cafe Writers Poetry Competition

The maximum length for each poem is 40 lines excluding the title. The additional Norfolk Prize is awarded to a permanent Norfolk resident, for a poem not winning another prize. For poets on a low household income please send this as a separate entry in a separate email, to any other entries you might send. Attach the document of this poem to an email marked with your name and ‘Concession’ in the subject box. The first place award is £1000, second place £300, third place £200, five Commended Prizes of £50, and Norfolk Prize £100. £4 ENTRY FEE. Deadline Nov 14

https://www.cafewriters.co.uk/home/poetry-competition/

Carol Shields Prize for Fiction

Books must be first edition English-language books written by a Canadian or American citizen or permanent resident of either country. Works written by women or non-binary authors are eligible for submission. Published novel, short story collection or graphic novel. Prize: $150,000 Canadian dollars! Deadline Nov 18

https://carolshieldsprizeforfiction.com/submissions

Servicecape Short Story Award

All submitted entries must be original, unpublished works of short fiction or nonfiction, up to 5,000 words in length. The winner of the contest will be awarded $1,000.

No Entry Fee. Deadline Nov 30

https://www.servicescape.com/short-story-award

Fish Short Story Prize

Word limit 5,000. The top ten stories will be published in the FISH ANTHOLOGY 2023. First place €3,000 plus a five-day Short Story Workshop at the West Cork Literary Festival. Second place is a week at Anam Cara Writers’ Retreat and €300. The third place is €300. Seven Honourable Mentions €200 each.

€20 Entry Fee. Deadline Nov 30

https://www.fishpublishing.com/competition/short-story-contest/

The Bodley Head - Financial Times Essay Prize

The competition runs every year and is open to anyone between 18 and 35 years old. No more than 3,500 words in English. It can be journalistic, a case study, wide-ranging or minutely focused. In keeping with the ethos of both sponsors, it can address any topic — from finance and current affairs to history and scientific discovery. Enter your essay for a chance to be published and win £1,000. Pays £300 (three hundred pounds Sterling) to each runner-up. No Entry Fee.

https://www.ft.com/bodley

Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction

Limit 5,000 words, awarding $1,333 to the author of the winning entry. Looking for creative  nonfiction, such as personal essays and narratives. All works should be stand-alone essays, not chapters of a longer work. $20 Entry fee. Deadline Dec 2.

https://www.reedmag.org/gabriele-rico-challenge-for-nonfict

Chicken Soup: Get out of your comfort Zone

Tell us your own stories about what you did to get out of your comfort zone and how that changed your life. Limit 1,200 words. First-person only. Pays $200 and ten copies.

http://www.chickensoup.com

The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize

Awarded for the best piece of writing on the theme of the Alpine Fellowship 2023 - which will be announced soon. The winner will receive a £10,000 cash prize. A £3,000 cash prize will go to the second place and £2,000 to the third-place runner-up. The winner and two runners-up are invited to attend the symposium. Open to all nationalities and to anyone above 18. All genres are permitted. A maximum of 2,500 words per entry.

Opens on January 1, 2023. No Entry Fee.

https://alpinefellowship.com/writing-prize

November is the countdown to introduce your books to reader communities at libraries, schools, or retirement home readings. Use D2D to get into the library market for free. Organize some giveaways, and, and, and… maybe write a rough draft of your next novel. November is a busy month for writers : ) But very rewarding - ENJOY

Don't forget: “Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol.”

~ Steve Martin quote

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